Effective Cat Deworming Guide: Tips & Steps
External parasites commonly found on cats include fleas, lice, ticks, mange mites, demodex mites, and ear mites. Internally, cats may host worms such as hookworms, tapeworms, roundworms, heartworms, and toxoplasma.
These parasites not only harm your cat's health but can also be transmitted to you and your family, potentially leading to parasitic diseases in humans.
What are some common deworming medications for cats?
Deworming medications are categorized into internal and external dewormers:
Internal Dewormers
Drontal (Bayer)
Brand: German Bayer/Bayer
License: (2019) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 70
Ingredients: Praziquantel, dihydroxy naphthylthiazine
Types of worms: Various schistosomes, Clonorchis sinensis, Paragonimus, Fasciola gigantica, tapeworms, hookworms, whipworms, and cysticercosis
Usage: Suitable for cats over 3 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Features: Effective against all stages of nematodes and tapeworms; dihydroxy naphthylthiazine is contraindicated in liver dysfunction, renal abnormalities, and hereditary heart disease
Caution: Bayer's Drontal has not obtained domestic approval and may contain counterfeit products, so please be cautious.
Hellevet
Brand: Chinese HISUN/Haizheng Animal Health
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. (2015) 110802802824
Ingredients: Milbemycin and praziquantel
Indications: Heartworms, tapeworms, nematodes (such as ascarids, hookworms, whipworms, eyeworms), and flukes
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 0.5kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Features: Milbemycin is highly effective against heartworms, while praziquantel is ineffective against flukes and tapeworms, making it a good combination with praziquantel
Caution: Hellevet by Haizheng is the same as Novartis' Milbemite, but from different manufacturers.
Enbenduo (Praziquantel Tablets)
Brand: Chinese Enbenduo
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. (2016) 170202514
Ingredients: Praziquantel
Indications: Flukes, tapeworms, nematodes (such as ascarids, hookworms, whipworms, eyeworms), and cysticercosis
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Caution: Different brands of praziquantel tablets have the same effect, and you can choose brands with regular veterinary drug approval.
Remi High One Pill Clean
Brand: Chinese Ramical
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. (2016) 190371196
Ingredients: Albendazole
Indications: Ascarids, tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, flukes, etc.
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Enbenduo (Albendazole Tablets)
Brand: Chinese Enbenduo
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. (2017) 153931195
Ingredients: Albendazole
Indications: Ascarids, tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, flukes, etc., effective against larvae and eggs
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Caution: Albendazole is mainly used to treat intestinal parasitic infections, mainly for ascarids, pinworms, hookworms, tapeworms, and whipworms. It has fewer side effects than praziquantel and can be chosen instead if not treating schistosomiasis.
Enbenduo (Sulfadimidine Tablets)
Brand: Chinese Enbenduo
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 170201600
Ingredients: Sulfadimidine
Indications:专用 for coccidia and toxoplasma
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Nosin (Fenbendazole Tablets)
Brand: Chinese Jindun
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 100386018
Ingredients: Fenbendazole
Indications: Ascarids, tapeworms, whipworms, hookworms, flukes, etc., effective against larvae and eggs
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg; not for pregnant or nursing cats
Method: Administered orally based on weight
Caution: Fenbendazole is very similar to albendazole in terms of use, method, and dosage. The difference is that albendazole is easily decomposed by light and heat, while fenbendazole has more stable properties.
External Dewormers
Cats' external deworming medications are highly toxic and should not be ingested. It is crucial to prevent the cat from licking the medication.
Bayer Advantage (Bayer Advantage)
Brand: German Bayer Advantage
License: (2019) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 45
Ingredients: Pyriproxyfen and moxidectin
Indications: Heartworms, whipworms, roundworms, nematodes, ear mites, and fleas
Usage: Suitable for cats over 9 weeks old
Method: Administered topically based on weight; prevent pets from licking
Features: One of the most effective external dewormers, moxidectin is a new class of avermectin drugs. Moxidectin and avermectin have similar deworming mechanisms and are widely used for internal nematodes, whipworms, roundworms, heartworms, and external mites, ticks, and lice.
Advantages: Moxidectin has improved safety and liposolubility, with a longer residence time in sebaceous glands and a longer duration of action.
Pyriproxyfen is a specialized flea killer with strong effects on fleas and their eggs. Pyriproxyfen is a pesticide and can cause symptoms such as drooling and tremors if ingested.
Bayer Advantage (Advantage)
Brand: German Bayer Advantage
License: (2018) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 51
Ingredients: Pyriproxyfen
Indications: Fleas
Usage: Administered topically based on weight; prevent pets from licking; avoid use 2 days before and after bathing
Caution: Pyriproxyfen is a nicotine superhighefficiency pesticide and can cause symptoms such as drooling and tremors if ingested.
Frontline
Brand: French Frontline
License: (2016) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 25
Ingredients: Fipronil (nonafluron) and Smethoprene
Indications: Fleas, lice, mites, and ticks
Usage: Suitable for cats over 8 weeks old
Method: Administered topically; prevent pets from licking; avoid bathing for 3 days before and after use to prevent the skin from losing oils that may affect efficacy
Features: Highly effective deworming, fipronil was widely used in agricultural pesticides. China's regulations prohibit the use of fipronil starting October 1, 2009. Fipronil is only used for household pest control, is toxic, and can only be used to kill adult insects.
Smethoprene is a juvenile hormone that interferes with the development of eggs to achieve the purpose of killing eggs.
Boehringer Broadline
Brand: French Boehringer (Boehringer) Broadline
License: (2017) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 19
Ingredients: Fipronil (nonafluron), methoprene, praziquantel, and acetaminophen avermectin
Indications: Tapeworms, nematodes (such as ascarids, hookworms, whipworms, eyeworms), ticks, fleas, and eggs
Usage: Suitable for cats over 8 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg
Method: Administered topically; prevent pets from licking
Features: Highly effective and comprehensive deworming, both internal and external deworming. Fipronil kills insects, methoprene kills eggs. Praziquantel kills flukes, tapeworms, nematodes, and cysticercosis.
Acetaminophen avermectin has a similar mechanism of action to avermectin B1, kills mites, ascarids, hookworms, heartworms, etc., and improves the speed of drug metabolism, with less drug residue.
Disadvantages: It contains pesticide ingredients, and ingestion may cause neurological symptoms, vomiting, and drooling.
Revolution
Brand: American Zoetis
License: (2019) Foreign Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 15
Ingredients: Selamectin
Indications: Ascarids, hookworms, heartworms, ear mites, mange mites, fleas, and lice
Usage: Suitable for cats over 6 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg
Method: Administered topically based on weight; prevent pets from licking
Features: Selamectin is a class of avermectin drugs, which reduces toxicity compared to avermectin B1 and improves safety, making it suitable for pregnant and nursing cats. It also reduces some killing ability and has no effect on argasid ticks, fleas, and tapeworms.
LANBoTo
Brand: Chinese LANBoTo
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 140182069
Ingredients: Avermectin B1
Indications: Hookworms, ascarids, mites, nematodes, ticks, fleas, and lice
Usage: Suitable for cats over 8 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg
Method: Administered topically based on weight; prevent cats from licking
Enbenduo (Avermectin)
Brand: Chinese Enbenduo
License: Veterinary Drug Certificate No. 170202069
Ingredients: Avermectin B1
Indications: Hookworms, ascarids, mites, nematodes, ticks, fleas, and lice
Usage: Suitable for cats over 8 weeks old and weighing more than 1kg
Method: Administered topically based on weight; prevent cats from licking
Features: Avermectin B1 has better deworming effects than selamectin but is more toxic. Prevent cats from licking.
Deworming Frequency
Cats kept indoors do not need to be dewormed monthly. If you do not take your cat outside, deworming every 34 months is usually sufficient, as frequent deworming can harm your cat.
Using different combinations of dewormers can be more effective, avoiding drug resistance and providing more comprehensive deworming.
Can humans use deworming medications for cats?
Human deworming medications can be used for cats, as human drug standards are higher than veterinary drug standards. Conversely, veterinary drugs cannot be used for humans.
Check the price, as human medications are usually much cheaper than pet medications. Compare the effective ingredient content of human and veterinary medications and take them according to the dosage.
Intestinal deworming tablets, which we commonly use, have albendazole as the main ingredient, but the price is only 1/3 to 1/5 of that for pet medications, so there is no need to pay for intelligence tax.
